ANT 270 Section 001: Intro To Physical Anthropology
Fall 2011
3 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Christopher Lynn
Syllabus subject to change.
This course provides an introduction to the current scientific consensus about human biological variation and evolution with an emphasis on the interaction of social behavior and biological change. The first section of the course begins with a review of the scientific method, then presents evolutionary theory and the underlying genetic and biological principles. The second section of the course is a brief survey about what we know regarding the behavior and evolution of the non-human primates. Learning about primates, which are our closest mammalian relatives, can help us understand human evolution and behavior. The third section of the course explores the evolution of hominids, the human ancestors and their close relatives, through the emergence of modern humans. Finally, we address modern human biological variation from the perspective of biocultural adaptation and culture change in living populations. The objective of the course is to give the student an appreciation for the place of humans in nature from a biocultural and evolutionary perspective, and to provide the background necessary to critically evaluate statements about human biology.
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
The course has an eLearning site that you can access through myBama under the "Academics" tab, or by going directly to http://elearning.ua.edu. The eLearning site will feature links to course-related content, including Tegrity files of the lectures, PDFs of PowerPoint presentations, a tool where you can check your grades, announcements, and a discussion forum where you can ask class-related questions. VERY IMPORTANT: This is also where you register your clickers, which is the mechanism you will use for taking quizzes and registering your attendance. Be sure to do this BEFORE the 2nd lecture, when I will begin penalizing you. There is an icon for registering the clickers on the eLearning home page for the course. If you have trouble or questions about the clicker system, there is information on the UA website here: http://frc.ua.edu/tutorials/clickers/turningtech-clickers-student-faqs/.
You can also ask questions or post course-related information for the entire class in the class Facebook group, which you can join here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/179401388799455/.
Let Dr. Lynn or your GTA know if you have any difficulty accessing eLearning at the start of the course.
Exams: There will be 3 exams, including the final. The final exam is cumulative, in addition to covering material since the 2nd exam. Exams may be a mix of multiple choice and short essays questions. Exams will cover material as indicated on the Outline of Topics below and can include material from the Relethford text, the Hens lab manual, the Wrangham book, or information from the lectures. Lectures will be administered via PowerPoint presentations, which will be made available for study on eLearning as PDFs. Also, material often comes up in the course of lecture discussions that is also fair game for exams. This material will also be available via eLearning as Tegrity capture files. However, utilizing eLearning is no substitute for coming to class. Statistics gathered within our department demonstrate that students who go to class, take systematic notes, participate in discussions, AND use online study resources do MUCH better than students who use online resources alone.
Quizzes: A quiz will be administered at the beginning of every lecture except when there is an exam. They will be administered using the Clicker system and will be drawn from the reading in Wrangham's Catching Fire assigned for that day, therefore, be sure to do the reading BEFORE coming to class. This will also be the mechanism for taking attendance. Quizzes cannot be made up for any reason whatsoever, including tardiness or unexcused or excused absences. IF YOU ARRIVE LATE OR LEAVE EARLY AND MISS THE QUIZ, YOU WILL BE COUNTED AS ABSENT.
Labs: When you registered for the class, you selected a lab section—check your schedule for the correct time and place. BEFORE EACH LAB MEETING, read the introductory text from the appropriate Hens lab manual chapter. Then, there will be several exercises to be completed DURING THE LAB. Some are book work, others are group exercises, and still others are hands-on work (individual or collaborative) using materials such as skeletal casts. You will never do all of the exercises in the Hens lab manual for any chapter (there isn't enough time). At the beginning of each lab we'll announce which exercises will be used for that day and guide you through them. You will not usually have to turn them in—instead, your lab session instructor will monitor full participant and grant credit based on what you do in class. You will use these in-class exercises to be able to complete the post-lab questions that you will turn in. Post-lab questions are found at the end of each lab workbook chapter. These are due at the very beginning of the next regular class session after the lab (i.e., usually Monday at 10 AM—or Wednesday, when we have an exam). You may type your answers and email them to your lab instructor, turn them in to her mailbox in the Anthro Department Office (ten Hoor 19), or you may pull the pages out of your manual and hand them in at the beginning of the next lecture. Late labs can receive half credit if they're turned in within 1 week of the date of the lab. Late labs receive no credit after that. Your GTA is not authorized to waive this policy, so please do not ask.
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%
Final exam 30%
Labs 20%
Quizzes 10%
TOTAL 100%
Attendance is required and will be checked during each lecture using the TurningPoint "clicker" system when we take the quiz. You have two "free" absences for which no excuse is required. After that you will lose 5 course points for each absence, unless excused by Dr. Lynn.
Separate from lecture attendance, 20% of your overall grade for the course is based on your participation during the labs (including both in-class participation and adequately completing post-lab questions). There are no free absences for this part of your grade. You lose points for each absence, including the first, unless excused. Please DO NOT ask your GRA for permission to miss a lab--she is not allowed to grant it. Only Dr. Lynn can excuse missed labs.
Note: Schedule subject to change without notice. Check eLearning regularly for updates.
DATE WEEK/DAY TOPIC/READINGS ACTIVITY
Week 1 Orientation; Biological Anthropology and Evolution
Aug 24 W Biological Anthropology & Evolution: Human Species (HS) pages 3-14, Catching Fire (CF) pages 1-8
Aug 26 F LAB: Lab manual (Hens) chapter 1
Week 2 Evolutionary Theory and Genetics
Aug 29 M Principles of Evolutionary Theory: HS 14-27, CF 9-16
Aug 31 W Molecular Genetics: HS 31-40, CF 17-24
Sept 2 F LAB: Hens 2
Week 3 Principles of Inheritance
Sept 5 M NO CLASS LABOR DAY
Sept 7 W Mendelian Genetics & Mutations: HS 40-63, CF 25-32
Sept 9 F LAB: Hens 3
Week 4 Population Genetics and Evolutionary Forces
Sept 12 M Microevolution: HS 65-70, CF 33-40
Sept 14 W Macroevolution: HS 70-87, CF 41-48
Sept 16 F LAB: Hens 5
Week 5 Introduction to Primates
Sept 19 M Classification of Species: HS 91-109, CF 49-56
Sept 21 W Primate Characteristics: HS 113-126, CF 57-64
Sept 23 F LAB: Hens 10
Week 6 Primate Characteristics and Classification
Sept 26 M EXAM 1: Genetics, Principles of Evolution (HS 1-4, Hens 1-3/5)
Sept 28 W Primate Diversity: HS 126-142, CF 65-72
Sept 30 F LAB: Hens 11
Week 7 Prosimians, Monkeys, and Apes
Oct 3 M Prosimians & Monkeys: HS 145-153, CF 73-80
Oct 5 W Apes: HS 153-173, CF 81-88
Oct 7 F LAB: Hens 12
Week 8 Human Characteristics & Life Cycle
Oct 10 M General Human Characteristics: HS 177-186, CF 89-96
Oct 12 W Human Life Cycle: HS 186-199, CF 97-104
Oct 14 F LAB: Hens 6
Week 9 Paleoanthropology and Primate Origins
Oct 17 M Paleoanthropology: HS 203-223, CF 105-112
Oct 19 W Early Primate Evolution: HS 227-234, CF 113-120
Oct 21 F LAB: Hens 7
Week 10 Primate Evolution
Oct 24 M Miocene Hominoids: HS 235-244, CF 121-128
Oct 26 W EXAM 2: Skeleton, Primates, Primate Evolution (HS 5-9, Hens 6-7/10-12)
Oct 28 F NO CLASS (Mid-Semester Break)
Week 11 Early Hominid Evolution
Oct 30 M Overview of Human Evolution: HS247-257, CF 129-136
Nov 2 W Primitive Hominins: HS 257-280, CF 137-144
Nov 4 F LAB: Hens 8
Week 12 Genus Homo Evolution
Nov 7 M Early Homo: HS 283-302, CF 145-152
Nov 9 W Later Homo: HS 305-326, CF 153-160
Nov 11 F LAB: Hens 13
Week 13 Early Modern Humans
Nov 14 M Anatomically Modern Humans: HS 329-341, CF 161-168
Nov 16 W Modern Human Origins: HS 341-352, CF 169-176
Nov 18 F LAB: Hens 14
Week 14 Human Variation
Nov 21 M Human Variation: HS 357-377, CF 177-184
Nov 23 W NO CLASS HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Week 15 Human Adaptation and Natural Selection
Nov 28 M Recent Microevolution: HS 381-402, CF 185-192
Nov 30 W Human Adaptation: HS 407-427, CF 193-200
Dec 2 F LAB: Hens 15
Week 16 Human Biocultural Change
Dec 7 M Neolithic Revolution: HS 431-457, CF 201-208
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 11 AM – 2 PM FINAL EXAM
You can earn up to 6 extra credit course points during the semester in increments of 2 points per opportunity (unless stated otherwise elsewhere) in the following ways:
Please turn all extra credit in to your TA.
This course fulfills a core requirement in both the Anthropology major and minor and a new minor in Evolutionary Studies (EvoS). If you are not an Anthropology major or minor and have not already decided to declare a minor in EvoS, we hope this course leads you to consider doing so. EvoS is an interdisciplinary minor, housed in the Department of Anthropology and is designed to introduce students to the fundamental importance of evolutionary theory as an explanatory model for life and behavior. This course fulfills a requirement as a foundational course in the EvoS minor. Other requirements of the minor include two capstone courses (including ANT 150, offered every Spring), a 200-level course in the biological principles of evolution. Additionally, minors are required to complete six elective hours in two separate disciplines.
This program is integrated with UA's Evolution and Origins Working Group (EVOWOG)and its Alabama Lectures on Life's Evolution (ALLELE) speaker series ("Like" us on Facebook [www.facebook.com/ALLELEseries] to stay informed!). You are strongly encouraged to attend the ALLELE lectures presented this semester. This minor is part of a larger EvoS Consortium, which includes approximately 42 other institutions worldwide, though we are only one of four full-fledged minors. We take pride in this fact, given that Alabama recently scored at the very bottom of the 50 states in teaching evolution at the k-12 levels (even worse than Mississippi!).
As part of the EvoS program, the students have started an EvoS club, that we hope will grow out of this class. You are welcome to become part of this club whether you declare yourself an EvoS minor or simply maintain an abiding interest in evolutionary theory and its myriad applications and implications. We hope the activities of the club will include regular evolution-oriented field trips and organizing activities around ALLELE speakers. The first trip that is being planned is one to visit the new human evolution exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
If you are interested in the EvoS minor (either to declare or for more information), contact either Dr. Lynn (cdlynn@ua.edu) or Dr. Rissler (rissler@as.ua.edu), who are co-directors of the program.
There is a closed Facebook group for this course at http://www.facebook.com/groups/179401388799455/. Please join us. It will be a forum for exchanging information about items in the news, pop culture, and other events (or your dirty little secrets, if you choose to expose them, I suppose). This is not required, but I have found it works better than eLearning forums designed for the same purpose.
Also, "like" the UA Department of Anthropology (www.facebook.com/UAAnthroDept) and the ALLELE series (www.facebook.com/ALLELEseries) on Facebook so that we can keep in touch with you and you can stay informed about our events and activities.
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The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.
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